The only changes I would make here would be, someone other than Bayless of the bench PG (Ramon Sessions?). And the draft pick would be at the SG or PG spot (Beal, Rivers, Lamb, etc.)

Beal, Rivers, or Lamb would be awesome. They could get equal minutes with Demar, and then unless Demar consistently performs, they could transition into the starting lineup, or be our sixth man i.e James Harden, OJ Mayo.

Too many unknowns to assume everything will turn out positively in our favour:

- Can Bargnani plan efficiently for a full 82-game season?
- Will Calderon be traded? If not, can he stay relatively healthy after playing for Spain all summer?
- Will Barbosa be traded?
- Will one of Amir/Davis be traded?
- Will Bayless' option be picked up?
- Where do we land in the draft lottery?
- Who do we pick with our selection?
- If trades are made, do we obtain any extra 2012 picks? If so, who else do we pick?
- Will Valanciunas struggle out of the gates?
- Can DeRozan maintain a level of consistency?
- Does Kleiza's knee remain trouble-free?
- Will JJ learn how to shoot?
- etc., etc.

We're far from a well-oiled machine to be making conclusions about the playoffs just yet.

Every team has their problems, whether they are making the playoffs or not.

Chicago

-Can Richard Hamilton can healthy?
-Can Derrick Rose stay healthy?
-Can Joakim Noah pick up his play?
-Will they get enough out of their front court?
-Can they be able to help Derrick Rose come playoff time?
-Can Boozer pick up his former all-star form play?

Miami

-Will Lebron perform in the fourth quarter?
-Can Chris Bosh perform at a high lever come playoff time?
-Can Dwayne Wade and Lebron carry this team consistently?
-Will they crunch under the zone defense.
-Will they crunch under pressure?
-Can Miami's bench step up consistenly?
-Who do they go to in the final seconds?
-will Lebron keep passing off final shots?
-Is Chris Bosh the most important key on Miami?

Those are playoff teams you can say they are far from a well-oiled machine to be making conclusions about winning a championship.

-Will Demarcus Cousins ever mature
-Is Tyreke Evans a point guard?
-How do we juggle minutes between Evans, Fredette, and Thomas?
-Are we going to be in Sacramento?
-Who do we get in the draft?
-Where are we going to drop in the draft lottery?

No team is perfect, they all have their separate problems. You can't just point out problems and say they aren't going to improve. Every team has imperfections and problems that come across, but every team goes through it, what makes a team is they get through the hump and fix their problems. There is never going to be a team without a problem/flaw.

Chicago and Miami will remain championship contenders even if those questions aren't answered.

We can't say the same about the Raptors, which is why it's difficult to conclude we'll be in the playoffs next year based on what we know today. If we heard New Jersey or Sacramento fans making these claims, we'd laugh in their faces.

80% sure we will. If we wont BC might be gone i'm pretty sure next year is the last year on his contract. If we make the playoffs he'll be extended

Man, I'm agreeing with NoProps... this might be a first for me. I think Colangelo is going to do whatever it takes to get into the playoffs next year. Other than Derozan, he doesn't have any RFAs/UFAs he needs to re-sign and he's going to have 3 guys on rookie deals. He's got a lot of flexibility with Barbosa and maybe Calderon off the books and 4 years out of the playoffs is a great motivator to get some things done. He'll need some luck but with Bargs, JV, 2012 1st, Derozan (if he shows up for a full season), Davis/Amir, Kleiza, JJ, Barbosa, Calderon.... he's got some assets to work with.

Chicago and Miami will remain championship contenders even if those questions aren't answered.

We can't say the same about the Raptors, which is why it's difficult to conclude we'll be in the playoffs next year based on what we know today. If we heard New Jersey or Sacramento fans making these claims, we'd laugh in their faces.

But we're talking about playoffs next year?

Sacramento can make run for it, cause Demarcus Cousins is buying into Keith Smart's system, and Isaiah Thomas is looking intriguing, plus they'll have a draft pick coming in.

Nets are if Dwight Howard comes to the Nets, they'll be a playoff team, just because it's a huge upgrade at the centre. Plus, if everyone is healthy, without D12, they can be a playoff team. It's just injuries really affected them like they've affected us.

I don't necessarily think the raps are a strong candidate for playoffs, just wanted to generate some discussion. We've been doing the rebuilding thing for a while, I'm curious when people expect the raptors to be a playoff team.

Raptors never make a splash in the FA signing, anyone we sign is usually overpaid or bench players. This team might have to do some more lottery drafting before the core is formed.

I don't necessarily think the raps are a strong candidate for playoffs, just wanted to generate some discussion. We've been doing the rebuilding thing for a while, I'm curious when people expect the raptors to be a playoff team.

Raptors never make a splash in the FA signing, anyone we sign is usually overpaid or bench players. This team might have to do some more lottery drafting before the core is formed.

The rebuild thing has been going on for 1 and 1/2 season or 1 and 1/2 year. If Toronto are even close to competing for a playoff spot next year, that will be a very fast rebuild. Minnesota took around 7 seasons and the Clippers took about 10 years. Even OKC took 5 years.

i think that we could have been borderline playoffs this year with a healthy bargs. miami, chicago, atlanta, phili in. boston*, new york*, brooklyn*, orlando*, indi* i think we will be in this group unless bigv or our draft pick end up a superstar in the making.

really looking at it we seem to be getting better as the entire conference becomes more competitive but we are in next year.

I'm going to wait until I see what this team looks like after free agency and just as importantly, what the rest of the east looks like after free agency. Asking this now seems ridiculously premature to me.

The rebuild thing has been going on for 1 and 1/2 season or 1 and 1/2 year. If Toronto are even close to competing for a playoff spot next year, that will be a very fast rebuild. Minnesota took around 7 seasons and the Clippers took about 10 years. Even OKC took 5 years.

Every team has their problems, whether they are making the playoffs or not.

Chicago

-Can Richard Hamilton can healthy?
-Can Derrick Rose stay healthy?
-Can Joakim Noah pick up his play?
-Will they get enough out of their front court?
-Can they be able to help Derrick Rose come playoff time?
-Can Boozer pick up his former all-star form play?

Miami

-Will Lebron perform in the fourth quarter?
-Can Chris Bosh perform at a high lever come playoff time?
-Can Dwayne Wade and Lebron carry this team consistently?
-Will they crunch under the zone defense.
-Will they crunch under pressure?
-Can Miami's bench step up consistenly?
-Who do they go to in the final seconds?
-will Lebron keep passing off final shots?
-Is Chris Bosh the most important key on Miami?

Those are playoff teams you can say they are far from a well-oiled machine to be making conclusions about winning a championship.

-Will Demarcus Cousins ever mature
-Is Tyreke Evans a point guard?
-How do we juggle minutes between Evans, Fredette, and Thomas?
-Are we going to be in Sacramento?
-Who do we get in the draft?
-Where are we going to drop in the draft lottery?

No team is perfect, they all have their separate problems. You can't just point out problems and say they aren't going to improve. Every team has imperfections and problems that come across, but every team goes through it, what makes a team is they get through the hump and fix their problems. There is never going to be a team without a problem/flaw.

Doesn't mean they won't have talent next year. We have potential talent in Demar, JJ, Ed, Andrea, Big V.

Rebuilding takes a while, but I'm gonna run with BC and want to hit the ground running. Cause I remember Philly went through only 1 and a half or 2 seasons and look where they were last season, even this season. You never know, with talent coming in for sure this summer can translate into a faster rebuild than we expect and as fast as we want.

Doesn't mean they won't have talent next year. We have potential talent in Demar, JJ, Ed, Andrea, Big V.

Rebuilding takes a while, but I'm gonna run with BC and want to hit the ground running. Cause I remember Philly went through only 1 and a half or 2 seasons and look where they were last season, even this season. You never know, with talent coming in for sure this summer can translate into a faster rebuild than we expect and as fast as we want.

True, but at this point, it seems more like hope, rather than an extrapolated prediction.

I guess you can say that, no real points to say we will unless we see everything.

The whole thread is a waste of time, if we're comparing our hopes for next season. What Raptors fan wouldn't hope that they win the championship next season?

Expectations for next season shouldn't be discussed until the day the season starts, after player movement (trade deadline, offseason, draft, free agency, etc...) and training camp, to see where the dust settles, so to speak, for the Raptors and the rest of the Eastern Conference.

We might as well be discussing what housing will eventually look like on the moon, since there are so many variables and factors that will absolutely change between now and next season, which will undoubtedly impact our individual and collective expectations for the Raptors 2012-2013 season.

The whole thread is a waste of time, if we're comparing our hopes for next season. What Raptors fan wouldn't hope that they win the championship next season?

Expectations for next season shouldn't be discussed until the day the season starts, after player movement (trade deadline, offseason, draft, free agency, etc...) and training camp, to see where the dust settles, so to speak, for the Raptors and the rest of the Eastern Conference.

We might as well be discussing what housing will eventually look like on the moon, since there are so many variables and factors that will absolutely change between now and next season, which will undoubtedly impact our individual and collective expectations for the Raptors 2012-2013 season.

I don't think it's a waste of time, more so a hope of time. It was a good conversation thread.

the rebuild thing has been going on for 1 and 1/2 season or 1 and 1/2 year. If toronto are even close to competing for a playoff spot next year, that will be a very fast rebuild. Minnesota took around 7 seasons and the clippers took about 10 years. Even okc took 5 years.

Raptors have been picking in the lottery for the last 3 years now. How long you spend at the bottom depends a lot on if you screw up your draft picks. Bargnani, DeRozan, Ed, and Jonas all seem like pretty solid picks.

It's easy to forget as a Raptor fan, but making the playoffs isn't actually the big hurdle. It's not really all that hard; more than half of all teams make the playoffs each year. The hard thing is making the conference finals.

The question about our lineup plus Valanciunas and draft pick yet to be named and free agent signing yet to be named is not: will that team be playoff calibre? It will absolutely be playoff calibre. Our team right NOW is almost playoff calibre when Bargnani is healthy. Just the improvement we would expect with Bargnani, Johnson, DeRozan, Ed., etc as they mature and develop their games should be enough to make us competitive for the playoffs. The big question is whether our guys plus the additions we can count on are good enough to make the eastern conference finals (not win: make). That is MUCH more doubtful, but it's not impossible: it depends on how good our top guys become.